


Authority

by SkeletalCapricorn



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-07-29 09:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16261487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkeletalCapricorn/pseuds/SkeletalCapricorn
Summary: Steven stared at the massive crack stretching across the matriarch's gem. "It's okay! I can fix it." Steven said, before spitting on his hand. A wet slap sound out as the hybrid's hand connected with the unyielding stone. White's eyelids lowered  solemnly as nothing happened. It was a rarely human expression for her."I appreciate the effort, Starlight. But there are some things even you can't heal." She said, before setting Steven down on the high platform in front of her. "Even something as powerful and perfect as a Diamond falls eventually." Steven scratched the back of his head. "But, we can't just sit around and wait for death. There has to be something we can do! There are billions of corrupted gems counting on you on Earth. Not to mention, Blue and Yellow were devastated when they lost Pink. They can't lose you, too!"White silently walked over to the window overlooking Homeworld. "It'll be alright, Pink. I have a fall back in place.""What is it? What do we need?" Steven asked desperately.White looked over her shoulder."It's you, Pink. You're going to rule Homeworld in my place."





	1. Face to Face

# Authority

## Face to Face

"I'm so glad you came to see reason, Pink." White said, her voice echoing around Pink's old room. Steven looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. Suddenly, the ceiling opened up, and a small section of the floor beneath him began rising upwards. The world around him went dark, surrounding the hybrid in blackness. Suddenly, he was blinded by a sudden flash of light. As his eyes adjusted, he realized he had come face-to-face with the matriarch of Homeworld. 

White picked Steven up by the back of his shirt, massive fingernails threatening to decapitate the boy if the grab had been a little less precise. White looked him over critically as Steven offered out his hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Steven. Pleased to meet you." White continued on as if he hadn't said anything. "Honestly, Pink. I know you aren't taking this very seriously, but you could've chosen a better persona then this. At least "Rose Quartz" had some grace." Steven's mind didn't yet process the implications that statement had. 

"Well, it's a bit more complicated then-"

"Yes, I'm sure it's really interesting, Pink." White cut off while setting him down. Suddenly, they were standing somewhere totally different. No transition, no cut. One second they were somewhere and now they were here. 'Here' in question, seemed to be the observation deck of White's ship, given that they were standing next to a window overlooking Homeworld. "Honestly, you couldn't have come back at a better time, Pink." White said without missing a beat while Steven nearly fell over. 

"W-what? How did-"

Another change and they were suddenly in a hallway. Steven stood on White's shoulder as she walked down a bright, pink hallway to some unknown destination. "Truth be told, I'm a bit disoriented. I'm used to having a lot of time to call on and now everything is moving so quickly." White said, not commenting on Steven's discomfort. 

"What's going o-"

Another change and they were back in the pitch black room with the lone platform. Steven fell forward onto his hands and knees. "Wait! There are dozens of corrupted gems on Earth and they need your help!"

"And that's just what I mean." White said. "The Pink from thousands of years ago would've never accepted the responsibility for this. You're growing so quickly, Starlight." Another change and they were at the observation deck again. "I still remember when you first emerged. Watching the planet where we planted you explode into a bright flash of light. But Blue and Yellow were so concerned. The explosion didn't even destroy the solar system and the gem it left behind was so small, but I always had faith in you." Another change, and Steven found himself standing in the palm of White's hand in the middle of the pitch black room again. Steven was seriously wondering why he even bothered to keep getting back up. "Yeah, but what about the others!" Steven cried out. "Oh, Pink." White said slowly. "I never told you, did I?" She asked rhetorically as she raised the hybrid up to her forehead. 

Steven stared at the massive crack stretching across the matriarch's gem. "It's okay! I can fix it." Steven said, before spitting on his hand. A wet slap sounded out as the hybrid's hand connected with the unyielding stone. White's eyelids lowered solemnly as nothing happened. It was a rarely human expression for her.

"I appreciate the effort, Starlight. But there are some things even you can't heal." She said, before setting Steven down on the high platform in front of her. "Even something as powerful and perfect as a Diamond falls eventually." Steven scratched the back of his head. "But, we can't just sit around and wait for death. There has to be something we can do! There are billions of corrupted gems counting on you on Earth. Not to mention, Blue and Yellow were devastated when they lost Pink. They can't lose you, too!"

White silently walked over to the window overlooking Homeworld as the scenery changed again. "It'll be alright, Pink. I have a fall back in place."

"What is it? What do we need?" Steven asked desperately.

White looked over her shoulder.

"It's you, Pink. You're going to rule Homeworld in my place."


	2. Why?

# Why?

Steven stared in wide-eyed shock. "That's ... a lot to drop on me all at once." He said, once he could find the words. He didn't even know how Homeworld politics worked, most of the time. He didn't know all the different gem types or how their tech worked or what fuel their ships used or anything like that. He had a lot of questions to say the least. The first thing he asked was "How did this happen?" 

Suddenly, Steven heard something. It was like all the sounds in the world slowed down and sped up simultaneously for a split second. The world flashed photonegative briefly. The air felt strange on Steven's skin and his mind felt somewhat detached all of a sudden.

"What just happened?" Steven asked. A white bubble materialized around him and the window glass seemed to disappear. White and Steven hovered out the window and over the streets below. The sea of countless gems appeared frozen, standing at a complete halt in the midst of tasks. A shooting star looked frozen in the sky and Steven could see his friends standing on his leg ship in the distance. Yellow, in particular, looked like she had been paused mid-sentence, her annoyed glance in Blue's direction made it clear she had been complaining about how long they'd been waiting.

"Time. The one thing that can destroy or heal anything at it's discretion." White explained. "It was billions of supereons ago when I first learned how to master it. Long before Yellow or Blue were created. Before this planet we stand on or any of the stars we see in the sky right now. I have controlled time for uncountable millenia." Suddenly, time began rewinding around them. Steven watched in pure wonder as his friends, and his past self, retreated into his ship and flew away. The crowd that had formed to see them began to disperse and the clouds reformed themselves in the sky while the ship disappeared into the stars. "Time can move in four different directions, Pink. It's only by my will that it moves forward. Time only flows because I demand that it does."

Time began fast fowarding itself. Once it reached the present moment, it stopped and began to rewind back. Once the legship disappeared over the horizon, time fastforwarded again in a loop. "Time is a very rebellious force, Starlight. It dislikes taking orders, especially after I stole it's power from it's old master. Only now has my grip managed to wain." The loop finally stopped back at the same point it started. "And now, after countless years, time will finally break free of me soon. Ending me entirely." She finished bitterly.

Steven had even more questions then before. Old master? Supereons? How old were the Diamonds? Time dislikes orders? Is time sentient? Could other gems accomplish the same thing? Why choose Pink specifically? "Why me? Why about Yellow and Blue?" Steven asked.

"What about them?" White asked dismissively. "But, they're millions of years older than me.  They never rebelled or betrayed you or anything." White and Steven began hovering back towards the open window. "That's just the problem, dear. They fit their purpose perfectly. I built Yellow to be strict, militant, and logical and that's all she is. I made Blue emotional, philosophical, and creative and that's all she'll ever be. You're different. You've changed over time. Your interests and relationships have shifted and the world turned around your choices because of it."

White and Steven re-entered the observation deck, the window reappearing behind them. The world once-again went photonegative for a brief moment and Steven could feel time begin to flow normally again. "That's why I like you, Starlight. You're just like me. Whereas entire civilizations can come and go without accomplishing anything, when we make a choice it changes everything. Everything either reflects what we want to see or we leave it to burn." Steven opened his mouth to ask another question, but suddenly he was standing in Pink's old room again. Evidently, White had decided they were done talking.


	3. Final Days

# Final Days

Steven took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves as the white bubble surrounding him approached his destination. The bubble vanished to reveal his incredibly nervous friends and family. "So, how did it go?" Pearl asked, a bit afraid of the answer. "She kind of dodged the question." Steven said. "Typical." Yellow muttered. Steven scratched the back of his head. "Well, um. There's no easy way to put this, but, uh. White's kind of.... dying and she wants me to replace her in ruling Homeworld." Steven cringed as he waited for their response. 

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone stared at him with varying degrees of shock. Eventually Yellow's face changed from surprise to frustration. "Of course she is! Why bother telling us that?! It's not like we'd be able to help or anything! It's not like that's the exact kind of thing she made us for! And she gives it to Pink?! After she vanished for thousands of years and has been living in run down hut with a bunch of rebels!" Thunder clouds were starting to form in the sky above her. The Crystal Gems began to slowly back away. 

"Nevermind the fact that Pink has little to no experience! Nevermind the fact that she's rebellious and borderline unreasonable most of the time! Nevermind the fact that Homeworld just started to recover from the disappearance of one diamond!" Yellow continued to rant while angrily marching back and forth. Blue grabbed her by the shoulder to try to snap her out of it as Steven summoned a bubble shield around his family. The storm had blotted out the sky across the entire planet at this point and tornados were beginning to form. 

"And goodness forbid she let us help in her time of need!! If she had told us sooner then maybe we could helper her! Maybe we could-"

"Yellow! Enough!" Blue yelled snapping Yellow back to reality. Yellow looked out to see countless Gems panicking as relentless lightning bolts rained down. "Oh, right." She took a deep, calming breath as the storm began to fade away. "I'm sorry, I'm just ... upset about all of this." Blue gave understanding nod and then looked towards Steven as his shield lowered. "We're sorry, Pink. We know how close you are to White." Steven felt a wave of .... wrongness flow through him from his gem at that statement. Something along the lines of instinctual disgust. Wherever this was coming from, it wasn't coming from him. 

Repressing this sudden surge, Steven looked out towards White's ship. Whatever she had done to warrant that kind of response, White shouldn't have to spend her final days alone, did she? However off putting she could be, White was family. Steven turned towards Blue and Yellow, a familiar determination burning within him. The determination he felt that he felt whenever he set out to do right by someone who didn't deserve it.  "I need your help with something."

~

White gazed out the window overlooking her empire. She could see thousands of gems flowing throughout the streets to continue their duties. Their instinctual reverence towards her rendering them as little more than extensions of her own will. And yet, they'd out live her. Millennium ago, she'd have laughed at the concept. But in a short few months, all her banners would have to be changed to resemble a new matriarch. 

White's musings were interrupted by a sudden thump as Steven collided with her window. White's eyes widened in surprise and the two shared an awkward look as Steven slowly slid down the window and out of sight. Steven then collided with her window again, flung by something White couldn't see. "Starlight, what are you doing?" White asked as she regained her composure. Steven pushed himself off the glass and yelled something but it was muffled. Steven picked up on this pretty quickly and signaled for White to wait before hovering down out of sight. Steven then smashed the window to pieces as he was flung with his bubble shield up. "Pink! What the stars was that for?"

"I wanted to talk with you." Steven explained. "You could have just spoken with my Pearl or knocked on the door so I could let you in." White said, trying to hide her annoyance. "Really? Yellow said this was the only way to reach you." Steven said. Deciding she would have a very harsh talk with Yellow later, White off handedly matrialized a new window to replace the old one. "Well, what is it?" 

"Now, I know this whole dying thing has you stressed out, understandably so, so I decided that you need a vacation!" Steven said cheerfully. "You could visit all those places you never got to, read some books, watch some movies, although I'm not sure you'll fit in the theater-"

"Pink." White cut off forcefully. "I appreciate the offer, but I doubt you've discovered something that I haven't." Steven thought for a moment before replying. "Not even surfing?"

"What's surfing?"

"Aha! See? Now you have to take a vacation."

White scoffed. "And who are we going to leave in charge? Yellow and Blue could barely manage anything while you were gone. I doubt they'd last a day without me."

"I don't think it'd make any difference." Yellow said as she and Blue emerged from a nearby elevator. "You hardly do anything anyways." Blue quietly elbowed her, her expression clearly expecting a harsh reaction to the comment. Thankfully, none occurred. "We understand you're concern White." Blue said tentatively. "But, you have to remember, you're dying. Once this is over, you'll never have a chance to do anything ever again. Don't you want to enjoy what you have left?" 

White thought for a minute. They had a point, she didn't have much time left and this way she could monitor Pink's development in a more flexible environment. It was a way to see Pink develop in a way that was natural to her. 

"Very well, Pink. What did you have in mind?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know I should update Steven's Court and I will. I've hit a bit of writer's block and my imagination wouldn't let this idea rest. 
> 
> I wish I could have given the Crystal Gems more to do here. I just doubt they'd be bold enough to but in on The Diamond's conversation with Steven.


	4. Vacation

# Vacation

Yellow, Blue, and The Crystal Gems all stood back and watched White's ship blast off towards Earth. "So, we're not going?" Connie asked. "White likely wouldn't allow it." Pearl replied. "Yeah, but what're we supposed to do in the mean time? It's not they'll just let us go where we want." Amethyst said. Yellow sighed and said "We'll work on getting you two integrated back into Pink's court." Yellow snapped her fingers and yellow bubbles appeared around Garnet and Connie. "Blue and I will discuss what to do with the human and the fusion."

"Wait! You can't just-" Amethyst's objection was cut off by her hands unwillingly forcing themselves over her mouth. The bubbles floated into Yellow's hand. As Yellow and Blue turned to walk away, a ship landed in front of Pearl and Amethyst, the large Topaz that emerged from within made it clear that the matter wasn't up for negotiation. 

 ~

 "You know. When you said you were gonna rebuild the house, this isn't what I had in mind." Greg said, looking over the blue prints Bismuth handed him. "Yeah, well since we have so many Crystal Gems living in one place now, I figured we could afford a bigger living space." Bismuth said before pointing to the landing pad. "That Lars guy is gonna want a warm welcome when he gets home, and it'll be handy to have a port to and from space." Greg nervously scratched his chin. "Yeah, well I'm not sure I'm rich enough to afford this kind of house. I'm rich, but not this rich."

Their conversation was interrupted by the loud "bwoom" of a ship exiting hyperspace, the sky darkening as White's ship hovered over the beach. A bright white laser fired from from the ship's gem, burning the diamond insignia into the Earth around Beach City. A small, human sized circle of light appeared on the beach, and White Pearl slowly emerged from within it. The Pearl struck a pose, her movements stiff, robotic, and uncanny. "All rise for the omnipotent White Diamond and benevolent Pink Diamond." That voice, Greg noted, sounded nothing like Pearl. "The diamonds sure don't do anything small, do they?" Bismuth commented, transforming her fist into a hammer just in case. 

Suddenly, Bismuth found herself forced into a salute against her will as a large circle of light appeared behind White's Pearl and the matriarch herself emerged, holding Steven in her palm. Steven waved politely, Greg returned the gesture while Bismuth grunted in effort attempting to do the same. "Interesting. Earth has been such a major part of history that I've forgotten how young it actually is. Only 4.543 billion years." White said, eyes scanning the sand. "How do you know how old the Earth is? Time powers?" Steven asked. "Not quite. Just little signs that you learn to recognize over time Pink." White's eyes turned to the destroyed house and statue. "Really? Rock? If your going to make a statue out of minerals then at least use gold. And don't even get me started on that hut. It's a shame, if only we had some good builders on hand." White's gaze slowly turned to Bismuth, almost daring her to say something. Bismuth would've loved to, but could only intensify her glare. 

Greg cleared his throat and went to introduce himself. "Hi. I'm Greg. I don't believe we've met." Greg said to White Pearl, offering his hand. White Pearl didn't respond, her thousand yard stare pierced his soul. The more he looked the more he could hear a tortured scream that sounded just like Pearl's, yet he couldn't look away. The more he looked, the more distant his own body seemed to feel. Greg quickly looked away, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, not the social type. I get that." Steven slowly floated down to the ground in front of Greg. "Um, Stu-ball? What's going on?" 

"You might want to sit down. It's kind of big." Steven said. Greg sat down on the sand, took a deep breath, and said. "Alright. Hit me."

"White's dying so so I'm giving her a vacation before she passes on and I inherent the throne to Homeworld."

Greg blinked slowly. "And that would make you king of the universe?" Steven nodded. "Okay. I'm real proud of you, kiddo. Just give me a minute." Greg got up, walked a ways past Steven, slammed his head into the sand and screamed at the top of his lungs. Greg pulled his head out, coughing up sand. "Alright, think I got it all out. It's just .... wow. Not sure my heart can take all this. Oh, boy." White seemingly got bored of her glaring contest with Bismuth, setting her free of her paralysis, and bent down to pick up Steven. "Alright, Pink. Where too?"

~

Jeff remained slouched over his desk, waiting for any customers to show up at the last minute to see Dogcopter 5. It was the last movie airing at the drive in before his shift ended and he could go home. Jeff's indifferent expression had stayed the same throughout the day, even as the sky had inexplicably turned dark. His expression remained the same as immense tremors began inching closer and closer. His expression didn't change even as the source revealed itself, with White Diamond marching down the old dirt road. His expression didn't change even when Steven floated down off her shoulder. "One teenager and one adult to see Dogcopter, please." Jeff gave a "mhmm" of supreme indifference before taking their tickets. Freaking Mondays. 

~

"And these are called Golden Dart Frogs. They're one of the rarest types of frogs on Earth." 

"Aren't those extremely poisonous, Pink?" Steven realized that he was holding it with his bare hands. "Oh. Good thing for healing spit."

~

"Why do you watch this stuff, Pink?" White asked. Steven shrugged. "It just appeals to me." White almost rolled her eyes. "Half the episodes are nothing but singing and crying while the other half focuses on subplots no one cares about." White looked to Greg, expecting some kind of answer. Greg shrugged helplessly. "Hey, I don't get it either. I just go with it." Steven shushed him and edged ever closer to the TV to watch Crying Breakfast Friends.

~

"Hey, Bismuth. We're gonna see Aurora Borealis. Wanna come?" Steven said, knocking on the door to the van. He got no response. "Bismuth?" Steven asked, stepping inside. "Present." She called from the driver's seat. Steven pushed his way up front, settling down in the passenger's seat next to her. There was a moment of contemplative silence before Bismuth spoke up. "Why are you bothering with this?" She asked. "What do you mean?" Steven replied. "No one cares if White Diamond's last days are enjoyable enough. Heck, if she died painfully I'd throw a party. Crazy Lace didn't get a warm goodbye. Neither did Biggs. Why should she have one? All I'm asking for is some justice here."

"...If she changes and dedicates the rest of her life to fixing all of her wrongs, wouldn't that be justice?"

"You're assuming she can. Evil is like a black hole, once you cross a certain line you don't come back."

"If she can still feel empathy, then maybe she hasn't crossed that line yet."

"Or maybe it's when you cross that line it doesn't matter if you feel empathy or not. You still crossed the line."

Silence radiated across the car, both sides seeing the others point and refusing to back down.

"...If she does atone for everything she's done, would you have me forgive her?"

"...No. She's done more wrong to you then to me. I think everyone should be forgiven by someone but they shouldn't be forgiven by everyone." 

Bismuth laughed a bit. "You know, Amethyst said you told her she was the most mature Crystal Gem. I'm not so sure, you seem pretty mature yourself." Bismuth stepped outside. "Come on. Let's go see these Northern Lights I've heard so much about."

~

"Isn't it beautiful?" Steven said, looking at the Northern Lights as they reflected off the icy Alaskan landscape. If White weren't there, Greg would've commented how much he sounded like his mother. "There is a certain beauty to it." White admitted. "Yeah. Pity you never saw that sooner." Bismuth said bitterly. 


	5. Top Secret

# Top Secret

"I won't need the sword, I said. It's a diplomatic mission, I said." Connie muttered, lying on her back in an uncomfortable metal cell. "Ugh. Stupid." She was interrupted by the sound of opening doors and the two massive diamonds walking past. The placement of Connie's cell in the massive prison hall gave her a good view of their faces. "Why can't we just throw her in the Zoo?" Yellow asked with a huff. "The humans at the zoo don't get along well with those found in the wild." Blue said. Connie scowled. "In the wild." Like they were untamed animals. "Pink seems to have a good leash on her." Yellow noted. It took every bit of Connie's will not to yell a correction. "Yes. She's fiercely loyal. Adorably so even. Did you know she tried to poof me?" Yellow snorted in response and Connie was glad they were getting to be to far away to hear because she was about to lose it. 

Taking a deep breath, Connie began to think. According to Steven, the electric walls weren't human proof, but if she tried to leave that way she'd likely be met by a wall of guards. Fishing through her pockets, Connie found an old hunting knife. She ran it across the wall until she managed to find some kind of crack, on the far end of the room. After applying some leverage, she opened a hole in the wall to find a cramped space filled with wires and plug ins. Connie presumed that she'd stumbled across the the hall where electricians did system checks on the cells, given that it seemed to stretch behind each and every one of the cells on her row. 

The electrician's space was cramped and Connie couldn't help but wonder how any kind of gem could fit through here. After carefully closing the hole behind her, Connie began to carefully crawl over the large wires. Just as the dark, tight space seemed to begin stretching on forever, Connie saw a speck of light coming from a small hatch on the side of the wall. Connie breathed a deep sigh of relief as she could finally breath air that didn't taste thousands of years old. But just as she opened the hatch, she could hear footsteps approaching. Connie lunged for the first hiding place she saw, a locker on the far wall, long before she could take a longer look at her surroundings. 

Connie heard the hiss of a door opening somewhere and heard two Peridot's arguing about something. "I'm telling you, Doty, this human music is amazing!" One of them said. "I'd believe it if I didn't have to listen to you sing it all day." The other replied bitterly. Connie could see their silhouettes as they walked down the hall now. One appeared to have an afro while the other had cylinder shaped hair. "Maybe you should stop listening to that garbage and-" Cylinder-Dot suddenly stopped and sputtered. "You left the hatch door open!" She yelled in outrage as Connie heard her slam it shut. "What are you talking about! It was obviously you, clod!" Afro-Dot, or Doty, no wait. Afro-Doty bit back. Cylinder-Dot huffed. "Don't be preposterous. Did you forget which one of has her own Pearl?" Doty scoffed. "Right. You're the one who keeps forgetting to fix that crack in cell 413." 

"Hey! I'm working on it okay! It's not like we need to worry about the human escaping."

"Yeah, it's not like she has anything to wedge it open with. .... You did check her pockets for that kind of thing right?"

"O-Of course I did. I'm not a pebble."

"Of course not." Connie could feel someone lean against the locker. "But really Sixer, if you just gave it one listen."

"No! I don't even know what a YMCA is!"

"Alright, alright. Sheesh."

Connie could feel Doty stand up from leaning on the locker. "I'm going on break."

"You know that's illegal, right?"

"Live a little. It won't hurt."

"It will if our Agate finds out."

"Speak for yourself. You'll just lose your Pearl privileges."

"Yeah. Yeah. Just be careful, Doty."

"I will. See ya."

Connie heard the footsteps of Doty leaving and caught sight of Sixer carrying her backpack as she walked by. Quietly as she could, Connie snuck out of the closet, tailing the Peridot down the shiny, yellow hallway. Just as they crossed an intersection, Sixer began to glance around. Connie quickly ducked into a nearby hallway just as she turned around. Convinced no one was around, Sixer tapped a nearby wall, opening a hidden passage. Connie dashed in just as the passage shut, following Sixer down a dark, murky hallway. Sixer arrived at a locker, casually throwing the backpack against the wall as she approached it. Connie knew she should just grab her backpack and leave but she was curious now. 

"It's here. My darkest secret." Sixer muttered as the locker opened to reveal .... a body pillow of Yellow Diamond. "Oh, my Diamond." Sixer yelled in absolute euphoria while Connie froze, trying to process what she was seeing. Sixer deepened her voice to imitate her Diamond's. "Oh, my Peridot. None of the stars can match my burning hot love for you." Sixer spun her body pillow around and leaned forward to kiss it a dancer's dip. She opened her eyes just in time to see Connie's dumbfounded face. 

The two stared at each other awkwardly for five whole seconds before Sixer dropped the pillow. "You saw nothing! You hear me?!" Connie rushed to her senses. "Help me escape and no one will know." Sixer immediately shook her hand. "Deal! The armory is down the hall and to the right. The code is 11918! Now go!" Sixer yelled, thrusting Connie's backpack into her hands and practically shoving her out the door. 

~

Yellow looked back at the events leading up to this. It had started small, Yellow had finished her conversation with Blue and the other Diamond had left to catch up on the eons of work that she'd fallen behind on. Yellow had smiled at the prospect of Blue getting back to work. Then cameras began going down on the prison ship. No problem, send Peridots to fix them. Peridots don't come back, send guards. Guards don't come back, cameras keep going down. Obviously either an escapee or an intruder, set ship to high alert. It took an hour to find the problem. It was the human. The Connie. Yellow had assumed that the problem could be dealt with now. She was wrong. Over the course of the battle, Yellow went from bored, to annoyed, to begrudgingly impressed. Yellow witnessed as this one small human fought off an army. Quartzes, Rubies, Agates, and Toppazes all fell by the dozens against her. It had taken 3 hours and 20 battalions of soldiers do get to the point where Yellow could see the human chained to the floor in a maximum security cell. Yellow began to dial Blue, perhaps it would be worth their time to train this Connie to be more obedient to them after all.


	6. Hear me

# Hear me

Steven threw open his front door, not questioning the pink tint the world had as he looked down at the beach and town. Lars ship was parked next to the Big Donut, now rebranded as Dewey's Donuts, with the undead space pirate and his merry crew happily chatting away with the Cool Kids right outside. All the formerly corrupted gems were catching up on old times with Bismuth on the beach and Garnet nodded in approval as some of Homeworld's soldiers tried out fusion for the first time over on the boardwalk.

"Oh, Steven! You're awake!" Pearl called out as she rushed forward and hugged the young boy, as gesture which Steven returned happily. Steven didn't even notice her form flicker for a split second. "You're just in time! The diamonds just figured out a way to reverse the damage done the Earth!" She said, letting go of the young man. "That's great! We've got to tell the others!" Steven said, before running towards the stairs. Suddenly, Pearl grabbed his shoulder. "Oh, Steven. Don't for get abo _ut me_." Pearl's voice and form noticeably glitched there. Steven raised a concerned eyebrow. "Are you okay?" He asked. Pearl's grin tightened.  "Of course.  _nothing_ you should worr _y abo **ut."**_ Despite Pearl's attempt at comforting words, she refused to let go and her voices and form had only distorted more. The pink tint was beginning to slowly transform into a monotone white. The world around them began to sink into a dark abyss below, seemingly fading away into nothing, while the two of them stood perfectly fine. Steven was beginning to panic, desperately tugging in an attempt to escape, but Pearl's grip stayed strong. Pearl's skin began peeling off like flecks of snow as White's Pearl was slowly revealed underneath, a mantra of "don't forget about me" sounding out in Pearl's voice from all directions. White Pearl wasn't smiling. Steven felt a deep twang of guilt radiating from inside his gem. "I-I don't understand!"

Suddenly, White Pearl was yanked down by an invisible force, Steven would've been pulled with her if he didn't collide with some sort of invisible floor. Pearl's voice began sounding out louder from all directions. Not screaming, but more like the volume had been turned up. White Pearl's grip only tightened, it being the only thing keeping her from the abyss below. "Why would I forget you?! What's going on?!?" Steven began to desperately try to drag White Pearl up, the surrounding voice turning into cries for help. The void beneath them rose up, surrounding them in darkness.

Then, White Pearl's cracked eye began to flake away like before, revealing a pink colored iris gazing at Steven in terror and desperation. "W-What's going on?!" Steven called out again. Suddenly, the voices went silent and the pink pupil shrank into nothing. White Pearl's frown turned back into an eerily forced and tight plastic smile. "Nothing you need to worry about, starlight." White's voice said through her Pearl's mouth before White Pearl let go. 

Steven woke up gasping for air, somehow feeling like he hadn't breathed in decades. He stood up, desperately trying to calm his frantically beating heart. 'It was just a dream', he told himself, 'just a dream'. Still, he decided to go downstairs and get himself something to drink. Something to calm his nerves. As Steven passed the doorway, he couldn't help but look outside. Everything was where he left it. Bismuth stood guard by the van, with Greg no doubt asleep inside. White Diamond stood out on the beach, staring absentmindedly at something far outside any human line of sight. Steven faintly wondered if she had even moved an inch since the sun went down.

Steven turned towards the fridge and nearly jumped at the sight of White's Pearl standing as still as a statue next to the fridge. "Um, hi?" No response. "...hey, are you okay?" Still nothing. "I know it's weird but, I had this dream and its left me kind of worried about you." Silence reigned. Steven pulled a carton of milk out if the fridge before continuing. "I don't know if you're listening to me or if you're even awake, assuming you sleep, but I just want you to know that I'm here for you. If you ever feel like you're in danger, let me know. Okay?" Still nothing. "Well, okay. Goodnight. I love you." Steven walked up the stairs, looking back at White Pearl one last time before muttering "It was just a dream" and going to bed. He didn't see White Pearl's eye try and follow him before being forced forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who hasn't read my note in Aquatic Obsession, here's an update. I've been absent thanks to getting a new phone, forgetting the password for this website, and forgetting all about it in the first place thanks to some stuff IRL. Now that I'm back, I'm going to be holding myself to a two fics at a time schedule in order to reign in my earlier bad habits (if you don't know what I mean, just look at all those Homestuck fics I did that are all completely dead or of a subpar quality at best.) So I'm going to be working on this, along with Aquatic Obsession and once that fic is finished, I'll get back to Steven's Colony. Then, once either this fic, or Steven's Colony are finished, I'll get started on Crystal Might and we'll just see what happens from there.
> 
> Side note: should I add Lars and the others to the character tags now that they has appeared in a dream, even if it isn't really them?


	7. Obey your betters

# Obey your betters

"It just doesn't add up." Yellow said, observing the sleeping Connie with a critical eye. "She's an organic. A human. And a small and unimpressive looking one at that. Yet she tore her way through nearly an army of quartz soldiers last night." Blue hummed thoughtfully before replying. "Maybe Connies are naturally good at fighting. Much like how Gregs are good at music and emotional support." Blue suddenly perked up. "That reminds me. I should get you a Greg. It might help you relieve some stress." Their conversation was interrupted by a yawn as the sleeping human began to wake up. Connie took a groggy look around her cell only to jolt wide awake at the sight of a very unamused Yellow Diamond giving her a harsh glare. "Finally. For the all the combat potential you showed against my army, you sure enjoy doing nothing for long periods of time." Yellow said with an eye roll. "It's called sleep." Connie corrected, already getting annoyed. Yellow only gave a dismissive grunt before leaning back in her chair. "Elaborate." Connie sighed. "Sense you asked so nicely. Basically, humans have limited amounts of mental energy and they go to sleep during certain parts of the day to recharge it."

"I have seen this first hand." Blue chimed in. "The humans at the zoo have an assigned rest schedule. Pink probably finds it adorable." She smiled fondly, recalling happier times gone by. "Well, it just sounds impractical to me." Yellow remarked before pulling out a data pad. "Last night you escaped from jail, fought through an army of 20 battalions, and snuck around the ship undetected for over an hour." Yellow summarized. "I know. I was there." Connie quipped back. Part of her knew she shouldn't be this snippy with them, but she had just woken up and her impulse control hadn't fully kicked in yet. Yellow's grip on her throne tightened in irritation. "It would do you well to remember your place. We can always throw you back in the maximum security cell."  It was Connie's turn to roll her eyes."Oh, please. I've been grounded before. I'll be fine." Yellow raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You mean .... buried? I don't follow." Connie sighed. "Analogy wasted."

"Regardless. We have ways of making you bahave. Your skill is impressive and it's a resource I don't plan to waste." Yellow said, regaining her composure. "Blue, if you would." Blue snapped out of her musings. "Oh, right. Sorry." Blue pressed a button on her arm rest. Two small, metal cages came down from the ceiling, revealing a struggling Ruby and Sapphire, mouths kept shut with muzzles. "Ruby! Sapphire!" Connie cried out in alarm. "Don't worry. I know what you're thinking. But the Sapphire can be reprogrammed. She's to valuable for us to shatter just to keep you in line." Blue said that like she genuinely thought it'd be reassuring, but it really wasn't helping. "Granted, I get the feeling you prefer her the way she is. So we'll keep her the same as long as you obey." Yellow cut in. "As for the Ruby, you should already be fully aware of what'll happen to her if you fall out of line." Connie hung her head in defeat. 

~

Steven and his current group marched through the harsh African jungle, with the boy being sure to point out every plant and animal he saw so that White could see. Than, he stopped, and turned to the direction he knew Homeworld to be. He didn't know how he could tell where Homeworld was, but instinctively he just knew. Something didn't feel right. "What's the matter Starlight?" White asked, curious about his sudden shift in behavior. "Something's wrong." Steven said, before turning to his grandmother. "Are you sure my friends are alright?" White scoffed dismissively. "Oh please. What's the worst that could happen? Blue and Yellow are probably bending over backwards to make your pets as comfortable as possible. They've always had a bad habit of that sort of thing." Steven didn't quite buy it. Something was wrong, he could feel it. "We need to go back." Steven turned to run back to the warp pad, only to run right into White Pearl. "I'm afraid there's no time for that." Bismuth stood behind Steven, giving the Pearl a defensive glare. "He said it's time to go back." Bismuth's body suddenly spasmed, and she was again forced to salute. "Pearl's right, I'm afraid." White chimed in, her voice a mockery of parental sympathy. "We're running out of time for games, Pink. I do hope you've enjoyed this little tour of Earth, it's the last you'll see of it for awhile." A familiar monochrome bubble formed around Steven.

~

"Tomorrow is where your training begins." White and Yellow said at the same time to two different people lightyears away from each other. The simple statement filled the addressee with dread in both cases.


	8. Training day

# Training day

White silently mused to herself as she stared out the observation room window down at the insignificant blue planet Pink had grown attached too. It had been nice to see it up close, relaxing even. While she'd never say it too Pink's face, White silently conceded that she'd had the right idea bringing her here. It had taken a certain weight off her shoulders, at least until her doomsday clock dropped that weight back on her again. Indeed, she'd felt the crack on her gem grow again and a few nights ago, her pearl had managed to escape her control briefly, even managed to intrude on her Starlight's dreams. She'd regained control of course but her pearl's awareness still remained, even if her body remained under White's control.

It was undeniable. She'd made a mistake. Pushed off her deadline and spent to long humoring Pink's little games. She had only a month yet, at most, so she'd need to act quickly if Pink was to take over her place properly. The monochrome bubble in White's hand opened and Pink, or "Steven" as "he" insisted on, fell out. Steven glanced up at White desperately. "White, please, there's no time-" 

"That's exactly the problem, Pink." White cut off. "I'm running out of time. You're friends, meanwhile, will be fine." Steven shook his head. "You don't understand! This isn't just a gut feeling. I can feel they're in trouble!" White paused for a moment in confusion. While the ability to feel when gems close to you were in danger certainly fit with the powers she'd given Pink, White hadn't a clue why it activated for a pearl, a fusion, a defect, and a human of all things. White quickly set this aside however. "You sound awfully concerned for them all of a sudden. Perhaps you should've thought of that before we left. This could've been avoided if you'd brought them along in the first place." Steven faltered. "I-I'm I...." White's smile widened. Perfect. Time to begin her shutdown speech. "That's always been the problem with you, Pink. Always placing fun in front of responsibility. Remember those corrupted gems you so desperately wanted to save? You never brought them up during our little tour. Is that responsible of you?" Steven thought it over. "No, I-" White continued. "If I had passed on before you remembered them they'd be gone forever and it would be your fault." White closed her hand around Steven, keeping him in a death grip with only his head sticking out. "You try to do something good like I do, but your flaws hold you back. Flaws that I don't have. But don't worry, in a few weeks time we'll have ironed out those wrinkles in your personality and leave you as the Diamond I know you can be." White gestured grandly with her free hand, seemingly highlighting numerous stars in the sky. "I'll leave you perfect. Like me."

"White. Crushing. Me." Steven choked out before the divine Diamond loosened her hold. "White, just listen to me for once! I know you still have a month left. My friends could be in trouble right now! And while we're there we can grab the other Diamonds and come back to fix corruption." Steven wriggled his way out of her grasp, rising up to stand on her knuckle. "I know I got carried away, and you're right. I messed up. I'm sorry." White wasn't sure if she more bothered or proud of the fact that her tirade had no effect on Pink other than her just owning up to her mistakes. Yes, it made for a good leadership trait and it caused White to see a bit more of herself in her replacement, but part of her was annoyed that the smallest Diamond was just a little less under her thumb. It always brought Pink's antics screeching to a halt whenever the eldest matriarch made light of her every little mistake and it had been so satisfying each and every time it happened. White squashed that thought as it came up, she was a Diamond, THE Diamond, she was above such petty notions. She quickly tried to switch gears.

"But you listed your friends first still. You still value them over curing corruption. You need to let that go. A Diamond can't play favorites, she can't place one life above the majority. We sacrifice planets for the sake of the Empire regularly, you should always be prepared to do the same for even your fellow Diamonds if the need arises." Steven opened his mouth to say something but a bubble formed around him again and cut him off. "Regardless, the trip to Homeworld and back will take time. Time we can't afford to lose. We'll have to start with training while we travel." Steven pounded on the walls of the bubble, trying to tell her what he was going to say, but the noise just reflected back at him. 

~

Connie pushed the tall, dry grass to the side as she neared the top of the cliff, the resounding caws of alien birds rang through the purple sky of the strange world around her. She took a pair of binoculars out of her pouch and aimed them at her destination. A heavily guarded outpost, guarded by heavily armed and armoured alien creatures at every side. The aliens we humanoid, but that was where physical similarities ended. They were bald, and each had a different pattern of horns atop their head. They had smooth grey skin and snake tongues for each of them. Connie's eyes switched from guard to guard before finally settling on an unguarded window near the roof. With a clear target in sight, Connie pulled out a hookshot. The guards wouldn't spot her traveling overhead, they never bothered to look up.

The hookshot pierced the stone wall overtop the window and Connie soon followed, breaking through the glass with ease. She quickly spotted cables running through the floor and followed them to her target. An open, unguarded, dark room awaited her at the end of the hallway with the laptop she was after waiting on a desk. If Connie was with her friends she would've commented to them about how obvious a trap it was. A quick spray revealed the hidden lasers that walled off the door. Connie gave it a look of serious contemplation, before giving a slight giggle. She couldn't help it, it reminded her to much of one of her spy movies. Okay, time to focus. A simple EMP should do the trick.

Connie simply stuck a small, box to the wall, pushed a few buttons a viola, the lasers vanished. Peace of cake. Now all Connie had to do was walk in and grab it. She did so, and immediately hit the floor to dodge the onslaught of darts that came souring from the walls. Fortunately, she was able to simply crawl out of the room. At least, until one dart turret aimed down slightly and hit her in the wrist. Connie jolted in pain and the virtual reality around her disintegrated away to reveal a large, yellow training arena.

 

Several kilometers away, Yellow Diamond oversaw the training from an observation deck several monitors giving her close ups on details that she otherwise wouldn't be able to see from that distance. "You did good work today." Yellow's voice said as it echoed over the speakers. "You've made far better progress than even my Hessonites had managed on that particular mission. I must admit that I'm impressed." Connie got to her feet and forced a polite facade, the threat of what Yellow could do to her friends weighing down on her. "Thank you, ma'am." Yellow didn't acknowledge the comment, assuming she could hear it. "As much as I'd like to test the limits of your skills, your "rest cycle" prevents it for now. You're done for the day, return to your room." Connie grumbled a few insults under her breath with what little stamina remained in her system.  She pulled a little locket out of her pocket, a group photo of her, Steven, and the three original Crystal Gems hidden inside. "I know you're out their Steven. Please, hurry." And with that, Connie dejectedly began to walk back to her room.

~

The bubble disappeared around Steven to reveal an entirely new area of the ship he'd never seen before. A pitch dark room, with the only sort of illumination coming from White herself and from a hologram of an enormous galaxy. "Have I ever showed you this room before, Starlight?" White asked as she tapped away at a touch screen in front of the hologram with her free hand. "I know you've never shown me, and if you mean my mother, I wouldn't remember if you showed her." White pauses for a brief moment before continuing. "Right. I nearly forgot. Your memory."  Before that topic could be pressed on, the hologram zoomed in to the Milky Way and then it zoomed in on Earth. The room around them brightened, virtually placing the two on the beach near Beach City. "Woah, it's like the orb on the moon base." Steven observed. "Well, of course, Pink. I have to keep an eye on your unruly antics somehow." Steven paused for a minute. "You knew?" White ignored him. "Now, to get on with the lesson at hand."

"No, no, wait. You knew?" Steven cut off, White faltered. "Why wouldn't I?" Steven didn't quite know how to process. "You knew from the beginning. You weren't fooled at all?" White looked taken aback and then broke out into a resounding laugh. A haunting, mocking sound of a cruel bully hiding behind the facade of a caring mother. "Why, Pink. Don't be ridiculous. You really think that anyone could fool me? Much less you? I always watch my Diamonds, Pink. Every step of their lives." Steven face looked dead for a second, his pupils shrank and his fist tightened. He had been patient. He knew White wasn't likely to change quickly or maybe even at all. He knew she probably didn't deserve a few happy last days and that she'd down irrefutably evil things. But even then, it could be argued that she cared. Cared about her family and her empire, in her own morbid way. This all changed with one piece of information. She knew.

"You knew. You were always watching, weren't you? You knew why mom started the war. You knew why she loved Earth. You knew that she wasn't dead and you never said a thing!" White actually backed up a bit. She had never seen Pink truly angry, much less at her. The hologram that surrounded them vanished and darkness covered the room again. "You knew my mom was alive and never said a thing. Not while Blue drowned in grief, not while Yellow worked herself to the brink, not when Homeworld fell into a resource crisis, not when the Cluster was planted planted in the middle of the Earth, not when corruption affected a bunch of your own soldiers, not during the several times my mom and I almost died!" He could hear the familiar sound of time warping starting up but he didn't care, he was on a roll and he wasn't stopping now. Tears were running down his cheeks now. "You watched your family and empire crumble and didn't do a thing! And don't give me a story about trying to make them better or stronger with this because you know it's not true! If you cared about them, about her, about my mom, you would've listened to her! Been there for her! For any of them! You would've done something, but you didn't! You know why?! Because you're just a bully! You just surrounded yourself with people who you can make feel bad about their flaws so you can ignore yours! And if you think you know everything about my mom, than you need to acknowledge that I'm not her. I'm not Pink Diamond! I'm not Rose Quartz! I'm Steven Universe!"

The sound stopped and Steven fell to his knees. "You're everything I thought my mom was for a really long time. I guess now a know how she felt around you." Nothing moved for a long time and Steven simply cried in silence for a bit. 

He looked up again when he realized White would've said or done something by now, but he saw everything around him was photo negative. Even White. Frozen in a mixture of shock and fear. "Whoa." Steven realized that he did this. White hadn't affected time, he did. He could feel a faint burning sensation coming from his gem now that he thought about it. Did White give him this power, or could he have hypothetically done this at any time? Was Pink made with this power or is this him specific? Steven gave a tired sigh. He was too tired to care right now. He just needed time to think, he was emotionally spent. Steven turned towards the door and saw the room beyond wasn't frozen. It looked like his time powers had a range to them. As Steven exited the door, he took one last look back at the frozen monster behind him. He glared for a minute before giving a tired glance downwards and simply left.

~

Greg opened the back door to his van to see an exhausted Steven standing in the pouring rain. "Hi, dad. Is it alright if I vent with you and Bismuth for the night? I just, need to get some stuff in order." Greg simply gave an understanding smile and a hug. "Anytime, sthuball. I'm always here for you." Steven stepped into the warm van and embraced the one thing he'd always have. A loving family.


End file.
